Sheet-feeding mechanism and duplicating machine provided with such mechanism



Feb., 4, 1930. J. CLATWORTHY SHEET FEEDING MECHANISM AND DUPLICATING MACHINE PROVIDED WITH SUCH MECHANISM Filed Nov. 14, 1925 6 Sheets-Sheet Na 3 if, E /N@ mw Maia/M 5 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 E E 2 SMw N@ E x Feb. 4, 1930. J. CLATWORTHY SHEET FEEDING MECHANISM AND DUPLICATING MACHINE PROVIDED WITH SUCH MECHANISM Filed Nov. 14, 1925 Feb. 4, 1930. J CLATWORTHY 1,745,404

. SHEET FEEDING MECHANISM AND DUPLICA'IING MACHINE PROVIDED WITH SUCH MECHANISM Filed Nov, 1 1925 Feb. 4, 1930. JW CLATWORTHY SHEET FEEDING MECHANISM AND DUPLICATING MACHINE PROVIDED WITH SUCH MECHANISM Filed Nov. 14, 1925 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 4 Feb. 4, 1930. J (:LATWQRTHY 5745,404-

- s ET FEEDING MECHANISM AND DUPLICATING HINE P o IDED WITH SUCH MECHANISM ed Nov. 14, 1925 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 flvvevrye Wad/140% v 4 29 Egml. ziii 52 2 Feb. 4,1930. J. CLATWORTHY 1,745,404

SHEET FEEDING MECHANISM AND DUPLICATING MACHINE PROVIDED WITH SUCH MECHANISM Filed Nov. 14, 1925 6 She1;s-Sheet 6 securing a parallel or horizontal rising motion of the feed table between its upper and lower limiting positions.

According to this feature of the invention two armsare each pivotally connected with some fixed point on the machine on opposite sides thereof, the remote ends of these arms being connected by a bar or the like with which one endof the table is pivotally connected, and from these arms lugs project, the

ends of these lugs contacting directly or preferably through antifriction rollers with cams so formed as to move the arms about their pivots to an extent sufiicient to lift the ends of the arms and the bar connecting the said.

ends through a height suflicient to raise the outer end of the feedtable to the same height as the inner end thereof is raised by'two arms mounted coaxially withthe camsand conveniently on the same spindle.

-. As will be understood, the load upon the table will vary according to the amount of paper thereon and consequently 'a different the purpose in question, while others are of more general application.

When ratchet mechanism is so used, it is not convenient to arrange a ratchet which shall be operated to elevate the table after each individual sheet of paper has been fed forward and it will, of course, be clear that with different thicknesses of paper it would be necessary with a device so arranged to em- 7 ploy differently cut ratchets according to the thickness of the paper.

According to the inventlon, means whereby the pawl is maintained out of'contact with the teeth of the ratchet until a determined number of sheets has been fed forward is provided.

- Conveniently the means in question is associated with the trip bar and in such case the means associated with the trip bar may cooperate with ancillary means adapted to maintain the pawl bar in an elevated position duringa portion of its stroke.

The means associated with the trip bar may, for example, be arranged to maintain the pawl bar in the raised position during one portion of its stroke,while the ancillary support is arranged tomaintain the pawl bar in the raised position during theremaining portion of its stroke until a determined number of sheets has been fed, when the two supporting means will assume relative positions in which they permit the pawl bar to descend.

a strap 'or arm engaging a pin provided on Thus, in accordance with the invention, an arm provided with a shoulder may be pivotally mounted in such position relative to the pawl bar that a bearing surface provided on The reciprocation of the pawl bar is effected from some suitable moving element of the machine as, for instance, from the spindle operating the pusher mechanism, adapted to feed forward and buckle the sheets in the manner above indicated; a I

To this end a cam or eccentric may be provided upon this spindle operating upon the pawl bar.

As will be understood, a retaining pawl V will be associated with the ratchet. This retaining pawl is conveniently associated with means whereby it may be raised from the ratchet and preferably also with means whereby the operating pawl'may be similarly raised to permit the table to descend.

The retaining pawl is conveniently associated with a finger-piece and preferably the finger-piece is associated with means adapted to operate a clutch on the feedspindle in such manner that when the retaining pawl is released from the ratchet the clutch is likewise released. I I

Conveniently,-the ratchet is formed on the edge of a disc and is arranged to operate through reduction gear a spindle, the rota tion of which effects the raising of the table Thus, for instance, the ratchet disc may be associated with a pinion engaging a toothed sector secured to the spindle.

The employmentv of a ratchetin conjunction with reduction gear in this manner renders it possible to provide for a considerable lift of the feed-table and thus to provide a machine adapted to accommodate for 'instance, a ream of paper.

The object of this is to prevent, owing to an oversight on the part of the operator, the 1 table, when unloaded, being raised to its highest point which would result in its being 7 returned to its initial position. I

The inventionalso comprises the provision of. means whereby when the table is in its lowermost position operation of the lifting mechanism by the pawl bar is prevented in the absence ofthe intervention of the operator. Thus, in accordance with the invention, when a ratchet disc operated by a pawl is employed for raising the feed table, a portion of the disc maybe left unprovided with teeth in such aposition that when the table has dropped to its lowermost, position the {pawl V 1 gravity, in the reverse direction .to that in mama-o4 on the reciprocating pawl bar will. simply bear upon this untoothedportion and move idly thereover; l

7 From, the foregoing. description it will be gatheredthat when the table is-in its lowermost position" the lipxof the trip bar will be permitted to descendiand the cam thereon will insuch case release the reciprocating pawl bar and will permit the pawlthereon to descend into contactwiththe ratchet wheel. iI-f, w hen in this position, the clutch on the 7 feed mechanismis. left in engagement, the

pusher mechanism, on the feed device will be operatedand'so also will be thereciprocating pawlbar and in the absence of some means adapted to prevent raising of the table from the initial position the table would, after it has descended, be again raised, unless the operation of the machine had been interrupted.

further features of the invention comprises the provisionof means adaptedto prevent the feed pawl engaging with the ratchet when the table has been raised to the highest position; v

- To this end, on the ratchet disc an elevated portion may beprovided adapted to prevent the'pawl engaging with the teeth thereon.

' A further, though'optional, f

ieature of the invention consists in the provision of means ad'apted'to'interrupt the operation of the lifting mechanism when the table has, been raised to apredetermined height in the normal operation of the machine.

Preferably such means also enables the table to return to its initial position.

Thus, in accordancewith the invention, means adapted to-raisethe pawls from the i ratchet forming part of the lifting mechanism "invention the means adapted to raise the' pawls may be pivoted on an axiscoaxialwith I the axis of the ratchet wheel, while on the ".45

when the table has been-raised to a predetermined-height may be provided.

,1 In one construction in accordance-withthe ratchet wheel a member may be formedadapted to contact'with' the saidmeans and tocarry itround durin-gthe raising of the table until finally it: engagesa' projection on the'retaining' pawl, raising the said pawl from the ratchet and simultaneously or subsequently raising the operating pawh I \Vi-th this' arrangement-,- as will be under 's'too'd, sosoon' aslboth pawl-s are raised the ratchet is free to'move, underthe action of whicli'it caused to move in the operation of fira ngihe ime.

so dimensioned that when the ratchet is retated tothe full extent-and in the backward 1 or reverse directionfthe said means is moved into a position in which one of its faces con- V A still further feature of the invention consists in the provision of means adapted to maintain a substantially constant pressure upon the she-ct after it has been released" by the feeding'mechanism and is being drawn forward by the impression-forming or other means operating thereon.

Thus, in accordance'with this feature of the invention as applied to a feeding mechanism of known character comprising fingers which are periodically retracted and depressed into contact with the paper, advanced to push the sheet forward and raised'to releaseit a roller or other pressure member associated with a spring adapted to force the pressure member on the pile of sheets may be provided Conveniently, with, this arrangement a roller formed, for instance, of'rubber or the like may be mounted on the frame carrying the fingers and at apoint adjacent to where these fingers are pivotally connected with the frame.

In one constructionin' which the-fingers-are pivotallyconnected with a frame which in turn is pivotallymounted in suitable fixed supports and is oscillated by a cam or eccentric mounted on a spindle on which a second cam operates to raise and lower the fingers from the top sheet of the pile, the roller may be secured in a carriage pivotally mounted on the spindle, providing a connectionbetween the .iingersand the frame, a spring or springs being provided for pressing the roller against the upper surface of the pile of sheets. I V

The invention will be described further in detail and by way of example, as applied to a duplicating machine ofthe kind in which the stencil secured to a flexible stencil carrier travels over a pair of inking cylinders vith reference to the accompanying drawings, in which I Figure 1" isa fragmentary view'in elevation showing the mechanism located at one side of the feed table-and witlithetable in' the lowermostposition,.and V 3 Figure 2 is'a similar view showing the position of the several partswhen thetable is in its highest position, while Figure 3 is a view in elevation showing the mechanism located at the other side of the feed table, with the latter in the lowermost mechanism'controlling the raising of the feed table and for interrupting the feed mechanism when the table has been raised to its hi rhest position. v

igures 7, 7 7 and 7 and Figures 8, 8*, 8. and. 8 are views showing certain elements of the mechanism for raising the table in the relative positions they will assume during the operation of the machine.

In the drawings, 1 is the trip bar provided with a projecting lip 2 adapted to be brought to bear on the surface of the paper to enable the feed mechanism to buckle the sheet and by itsoscillation to release the buckled sheet the edge of which will spring forward and be engaged between the pressure roller 3 mounted on the frame 4. The cam 8 is mounted on the spindle 1O driven by the toothed wheels 10,

10 and 10, the latter of which is secured on the same shaft as the roller 5 and this shaft being rotated by hand or by an electric motor and operating also in known manner through the eccentric 10 and the connecting rod 10 the frame 11 to which are secured the fingers 12 carrying the rubber friction pads 13. The motion imparted to the frame 11 causes the fingers to be periodically retracted and raised from the pile of sheets to be fed and depressed into contact with the topmost sheet of the pile when as they are advanced they cause the sheet to buckle with the result that the foreedge of the sheet will spring forward when released by the lip 2 of the trip bar, the fingers being thereafter raised to release the sheet and then retracted. These fingers are pivotally'connected with the frame which in turn is pivotally mounted at 14 on the side members of the machine. To the frame in question is secured a carriage 15 pivotally mounted at 16 on the frame andin this carriage a roller 1.7 is secured,'a spring 18 being provided for pressing the roller against the upper surface of the pile ofsheets. This arrangement constitutes means adapted 'to maintain substantially constant pressure on the sheet which is being fed after it has been released by the feeding mechanism and is being drawn forward by the impressionforming or other means operating thereon. On the trip bar is aslotted cam19 engaging a pin 20 on the reciprocating bar 111 such manner that the reciprocation of the bar will rotate the trip bar about its axis. while upward'pressure on the trip bar will cause the slotted cam to bear against the pin which will in such case prevent rotational motion of the trip bar as the result of such upward pressure. In this way, as will be seen, the rotation of the'trip bar aboutits axis willbe secured as the result of the operation of the feeding mechanism but lifting of the trip. bar in consequence ofp'ressureapplied to it'will be prevented. Y

For raising the feed table-20 which is provided with a sheet metal 'extension 20 forming part thereof andthe forwardportion of the support for the pile of sheets, in

the construction illustrated, a ratchet mechanism is employed. This ratchet mechanism comprises a ratchet wheel 21 which is operated upon by a pawl'22 provided on the reciprocating pawl bar 23 which is furnished with a slot 24 engaging a pin 25 on the frame of the machine.

This bar is reciprocated through the intercured to an adjacent portion of the machine frame, such reciprocatlon being secured by the motion'of the eccentric 27. An arm28.

pivotally mounted about the axis of the screw 29 is connected by a spring 30 toa fixed point medlary of the eccentric strap 26 wh ch is pro V vided witha slot 26 engaging a pinq26 seon the machine, the spring operatingto con:

strain the arm to move against the stop 31. On this arm a shoulder 32 is provided.* This shoulder forms a bearing surface for the rethe trip bar until a givennurnber of sheets has been fed and the lip of the trip bar has in consequence been allowed to descend a predetermined amount is shown more clearly in Figures 7, 7 7, and T which illustrate the several positions assumed by the elements above described in the operation ofthe' machine. 'In Figure 7 as will be seen, the pawl bar 28 is in its extreme retracted position the pawl 22 being maintained out of engagement with the ratchet 21 owingto theforwar'd end of the pawl bar being supported on the cam 33 mounted'on the trip bar 1, the lip 2 of 1 the" trip bar being prevented from descend-1 ing' by the height ,of the pile ofsheets supported on the feed table. From its extreme retracted position during the feeding of the sheets and before the trip bar is rotated to release the fore edge of the topmost sheet the pawl bar will be supported by the projec tion or shoulder 32 on the arm 28 asshown" in Figure 7?. As the trip bar rotates the cam' 33 will engage against the forejend of the pawl bar lifting it from the shoulder 32, as shown in Figure 7 and subsequently as the. trip bar continues its motion allowing it to.

descend into'the position shown in Figu're 7 into contact with the ratchet 21 but in this position the pawl bar being in-its extreme forward position the ratchet willnot be actuated and it will be released from the ratchet reassuming the positionshown in Figure"? as the tripv bar makes its return movement to bring'its lip '2 into contact with the pile of.

1 sheets or being'ag'ain released, as shown in Figure 8, if the height of the pile of sheets is suchas to render necessary the raising of the feed" table. In this. case the succeeding re- 5 ciprocation of the pawl bar into the position indicated in Figure 8 will cause the ratchet, owing to the continued engagement with it of the pawl, to be moved thereby raising the feed table. The cam 33 on the trip bar, as ishown in Figure 8 then operates to raise the pawlbar, and finally allowing it to assume the position shown in Figure 8 or, in other words, the same position as is illustrated by Figure 7 and assuming that the table has'been sulii 5 cientlyraised by the above described movements of the ratchet the next positionassumed by the several parts willbe as shown in Figure7, when the next cycleof operations will be as indicated in Figure 7 7, and 7 0 If thetable has not been sufhciently raised the cycle will, on the other hand, be'as illustrated in Figures 8", 8, and 8 I V v A retaining pawl" 36 is associated with the ratchet. This pawl is provided on a lever 37 pivoted on the screw 38, a finger-piece 39 being provided on the lever adapted toenable theretainin'g p'awl to be raised from the ratchet should the operator desire'to cause the feedtable' to descend in order that more a. paper maybe-placed in POSltlOIltllGlGOIl; On

the pivoted lever a lifter 40 is provided. This litter is adapted to contact with the reciprocating pawl'bar so that pressure upon the finger-piecenot onlyraises the retaining pawl I "13% but also the operating pawl from the ratchet wheel.

Further, the lever in question operates through the pin 41 on the lever-42 pivoted about the centre 43 i andiconnected by the Qili 4=4lwith the bell crank lever pivoted at 4:6.

. Presure upon the finger-piecemoves' the same fromth dottedposition into the position shown in full lines in Figuresl and 2 and such motion causes the bell crank leverto '5; engage apin 47, therebyjreleasing the clutch 48 provided onthefe'ed-spindle. In thisfway the operation of" the feed spindle and thus of the feed mechanism is interrupted simultaneously with the interruption of the motion -56 of the lifting mechanism.

The teeth of the ratchet, as 'will be seen from the drawings, are form'edon' the edge of a-di'sc and with the'disc is associated'atoothed wheel 49 operating through the pinion 550; 55. upon the toothed fsector f5l which is secured to the spindle 52 whichin' turn operatesupon.

thel'tablei V g The" employment ofa' ratchet in conjunction withi-r'eduction gear in this manner ren ders it possible to. provide for acons'iderajble lift otthe feed table and thus'to provide a V machine adapted to accommodate, for" in stanceya ream oft p'aper.

' The ratehet wheelinrthe construction de- 63? seat-ta -provided with per-tint in which bar will simply bear on this untoothed por-' tion and will oscillate idly thereover even though the clutch on the feed spindle has not been disengaged.

From the above it will be gathered that when'the table is in its lowermost position the lip of the trip bar will be permitted to descend and the cam thereon will in such case release the reciprocating pawl bar and will permit'the pawl on the said pawl bar to descend into contact with the ratchet wheel.

To prevent the pawl bar engaging with the ratchet when the table has been raised to the highest position and thus operating thereon and straining the mechanism, an elevation 53 is provided thereon and in the construction illustrated means are provided adapted to interrupt the operation of the lifting mechanism when the table has been raised to a predetermined height in the normal operation of the machine and to return the table into its initial position.

For this purpose means are provided adapted to raise the pawls from the ratchet forming part of the lifting mechanism'when the table has been raised to a predetermined height. c Such means comprises a member 54 pivoted about the same axis the ratchet'wheel and on the side of the ratchet wheel the member 55 is provided adapted to contact with the aforesaid member andlto carry it around during the raising of the table until finally it engages a pro ection on the retaining pawl, thereby raising the said pawl from the ratchet and-isimultan'eously raising the operating paw So soon as these pawls have been raised and the ratchet freed, the ratchet will move in the reverse direction to that in which it is caused to move in the operation of raising the table.

This motion of the ratchet which, as will be understood, iseifeoted through the operation of gravity upon the feed table, brings the member 55 into such position that it strikes the member54, as shown in Figure 1, and thus moves the said member out of the position in which it operates upon the retaining pawl and'in the figure in question it is shown in the operation of releasing the same.

The member 54 then falls back into the position shown in dotted line in Figure 1.

The descent ofthe table may be arranged to interrupt the operation of the machine as a whole.

For this purpose where the machine is driven electrically a switch 56, see Figures 3 and 4', may be provided on the base-board, the switch comprising a movable element 57 adapted to be struck by the table or one of lot the arms supporting it in the downward the raising and lowering operations.

This is. effected in the constructions illustrated by providing two arms 58 which are pivotally connected at 59 with a fixed point on opposite sides of the machine frame, the remote ends of these arms being connected by a bar from these arms lugs 61 project, the ends of these lugs contacting through antifriction rollers 62 with cams 63 so formed as to move the arms about their pivots to an extent sufiicient to lift the ends of the arms and the bar connecting said ends suflicient to raise the rear end of the table to a height equal to that which the two arms 64 mounted coaxially with the cams will operate to raise the fore end of the table. v

The ends of these arms are provided with rollers 65 bearing upon the rear face of the feed board or table While adjacent to the remote end thereof andon its rear face a member 66 provided with a slot- 67 is secured, said slot in which is engaged the bar connecting the remote ends of the arms operating to lift the rear end of the table. The form of this slot'is so chosen that in operation the arms cause the edge of the table adjacent to the forward edge or side of the pile of paper which isto be fed to press against a guard plate 68, which acts merely to keep the fore edge of the sheets in alignment one above the other, thereby reducing any tendency of the pile of sheets to be retracted from the guard plate by the o eration of the means feeding forward the individual sheets.

For equalizing the effort in raising the table its fulcrum (see Figures 3 and/l) which is,

coaxial with the point 59 providing a sliding or rolling surface 7 0 for a pin 71' formed on an arm 72 rigidly connected with the spindle which is operated from the feeding device in raising the table. With this arrangement the point of contact between the pin in question and the arm and the lever moves outward toward the end thereof from the point at which the table is in its lowest position to the point at which the table is in its highest position. For limiting motion of the lever a pin 73 is provided, while for constraining the lever to-return into its initial position a spring 74,

one end of which is connected with the lever as shown and the other end of which is connected to a fixed point on the machine, is provided.

As will be understood certain of the features above defined may be employed independently of other features; they may also be employed together in various combinations and the employment ofthe features in dividually or in any convenient or desirable combination falls within the scope of the present application. 7

The invention is, as above indicated, concerned particularly with the sheet-feeding mechanism of type and stencil duplicating machines and is principally concerned with stencil duplicating machinesof the typein which a stencil mounted incontact with a fiexlble carrier 1s caused to travel over a plu-- rality of inking rollers.

The invention moreover extends to impression-producing machines and particularly duplicating machines provided with sheetfeeding mechanism comprising the features above specified or certain of them.

Finally it may be mentioned that'the expression duplicating machine as used herein is intended to mean orinclude machines for use in duplicating documents, manuscript, type'script and other matter upon paper or the like by means, for instance, of stencils of the kind including a porous support such as yoshino paper and an ink or pigment-resisting coating in which openings corresponding with the matter to be reproduced are formed.-

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is V I 1. Sheet-feeding mechanism of the kind including a table, for the accommodationof a pile of sheets to be fed in succession and means for periodically raising the table during the normal operation of the mechanism, said: mechanism comprising a trip bar, a projecting lip on said bar adapted to be brought to bear on the surface of the paper to cause the feed mechanism to buckle the sheet and is rotated periodically in order to release-the sheet, the fore-edge thereof being thereby per mitted to spring forward, and means asso ciated with the tripbar adapted to inhibit the same'from rotation under the action of pressure applied to it by raising the table and thereby positively to arrestthe upward motion of the feed table in the preliminary adjustment' of its height to bring, the "topmost :sfhaet of thepile of sheetsinto position to be e V t I V 2. Sheet-feeding mechanism of the kind ineluding a table, for the accommodation of a pile of sheets to bev fed in succession and means for periodically raising the table during the normal operation of the mechanism, said mechanism comprising a trip bar, a projecting lip on said trip bar adapted to be brought to bear on the surface of the paper to cause the feed mechanism to buckle the sheet and is rotated periodically in order to release the sheet, the fore-edgethereof being thereby-permitted to spring forward, means adapted to push successive'sheets forward, thereby causing the top sheet of a pile of. sheets to buckle and its edge to spring forward when released by the trip bar, a spindle operating said means, a cam on said spindle,

a member adapted to be reciprocated by the cam, a connection between the member and the trip bar adapted to oscillate'the latter, and means associated with the trip bar adapted to inhibit the same from rotation under the action of pressure applied to it by raising the table and thereby positively to arrest the upward motion of the feed table in the preliminary adjustment of its height to bring the topmost sheet of the pile of sheets into position to be fed. 7

3. Sheet-feeding mechanism of the kind including a table, for the accommodation of a pile of sheets to be fed in succession and means for periodically raising the table during the normal operation of the mechanism, said mechanism comprising a trip bar, means adapted to push successive sheets of-paper forward,.thereby causing the top sheet of a pile of sheets supported on the table to buckle and its edge to spring forward when released by the trip bar, a spindle operatingsaid means, a cam on said spindle, a -member 7 adapted to be reciprocated'by the cam, a pin on said member and a slotted cam on the trip bar engaging the pin, said slotted cam being adapted to rotate the trip bar about its axis when the member actuated by the cam is reciprocated and to prevent upward pressure on the trip bar from causing the trip bar to rotate.

, 4. Sheet-feeding mechanism of the kind ineluding a table, for the accommodation of a pile of sheets to be fed in succession and means for periodically raising the table during the normal operation of the mechanism, said mechanism comprising a trip bar, means,

7 adapted to push successive sheets of paper forward, thereby causing the top sheet of a pile of sheets supported on the table to buckle and its edge to spring forward when released on said member, a slotted cam on the trip bar engaging the pin, said slotted cam being adapted to rotate the trip bar about its axis when'the member actuated by'the cam is re ciprocated and to prevent upward pressure on the trip bar from causing the trip bar to rotate, and means for preventing theopera- "tion of the moving parts of the machine as a whole when the table has reached position. i c

5. Sheet-feeding mechanism of the kind its highest including a table, for the accommodation of a pile of sheets to be fed in succession and means for periodically raising the table during the normal operation of the mechanism,

said mechanism comprismg a trip bar, means adapted to push successlve sheets of paper forward, thereby causing the top sheet of a pile of sheets supported on the table to buckle and its edge to spring forward when released by the trip bar, a spindle operating said means, a cam on said spindle, a member adapted to be reciprocated by the cam, a pin on said member, a slotted cam on the trip bar engaging the pin, said slotted cam being adapted to rotate the trip bar about its axis when the member actuated by the cam is reciprocated and to prevent upward pressure onthe trip bar, causing the trip bar to rotate, means for preventing the operation of the moving parts of the machine as a whole when the table has reached its highest position, and means whereby the return of the feed table to its initial position is employed for operating a switch adapted to interrupt the supply of current to an electric motor employed as a source of power 6.. Sheet-feeding mechanism, as claimed in claim 5, having ratchet and pawl mechanism for raising the feed table, in which, for maintaining the pawl out of contact with the teeth of the ratchet until a predetermined number of sheets has been fed forward, with the trip bar is associated means adapted to maintain the pawl out of contact with the ratchet during a portion of its stroke and ancillary means are provided adapted to maintain the pawl out of contact with the teeth of the ratchet during the remaining portion of its stroke until the determined number of sheets has been fed.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

JOHN CLATWORTHY. 

